The Grassy Street

Also published in German by Suhrkamp, in Italian by Einaudi, in French by Gallimard.

The Grassy Street chronicles ordinary life in a typical Soviet suburb in the 1940s. Unsavory staff by any standard, but fascinating for the picture Eppel paints — with his remarkable tenderness, humor and even ebullience.

Eppel is a past master of the subtle detail and the bon mot. His minute descriptions of everyday life make you either burst out laughing or dissolve in tears.

"Asar Eppel introduces us to the largely unknown world of Ostankino, transformed after the Revolution from an elegant country spot into a dustheap of people of all nationalities with a touch of Jewish blood. ...It is not just talent but also love. His stories are modern classics, some of them comparable to the best of Chekhov." — Andrei Sergeev, winner of the 1996 Russian Booker Prize

"How is it possible that the work of this brilliant, cultivated writer with his noble sense of humor and eternal Jewish anguish, with his all-embracing compassion for people combined with his merciless insight into their true nature, was unknown? In my opinion, Asar Eppel is the best Russian writer today." — Ludmila Petrushevskaya